UKCA replaces CE markings that are needed to sell certain products in Great Britain and will be mandatory from January 2022.
The United Kingdom’s (UK) Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has recently issued fresh guidance on the introduction of the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking.
Following the UK exit from the EU, the government introduced a new domestic goods regulation. The UKCA is a new UK product marking that is used for goods being placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and covers most goods that previously required the CE marking.
The UKCA marking came into effect on 1 January 2021. Businesses are still be able to use the CE marking until 1 January 2022 in most cases.
The guidance advises that If you use the CE marking to sell certain products in Great Britain, you need to take action before 1 January 2022 to comply with the new rules that include changes to the way these products need to be labelled.
If your business manufactures, imports or distributes goods which require testing by a conformity assessment body, the guidance advises companies to start the testing process early to ensure you will be ready on time.
Your existing stock, can still be sold in Great Britain with a CE marking even if covered by a certificate of conformity issued by a UK body before 1 January 2021, will need to be placed on the market before 31 December 2021.
Rules for using the UKCA image. You must make sure that:
- if you reduce or enlarge the size of your marking, the letters forming the UKCA marking must be in proportion to the version set out below
- the UKCA marking is at least 5mm in height – unless a different minimum dimension is specified in the relevant legislation
- the UKCA marking is easily visible, legible (from 1 January 2023 it must be permanently attached)
The UKCA marking can take different forms (for example, the colour does not have to be solid), as long as it remains visible, legible and maintains the required proportions.
Selling products in the GB, NI and EU markets?
You may need up to three labels! The UKCA marking will not be recognised on the EU or Northern Ireland markets where products will continue to require a CE marking for sale in the EU will continue to need a CE mark (and meet the other EU rules). You will need UKCA for the GB market and possibly UKNI for the Northern Ireland market.
BEIS have made information available on the .gov website:
- ‘Using the UKCA marking’ guidance page at the earliest opportunity.
- ‘Placing manufactured goods on the market’ guidance page.
The CE marking continues to apply to goods sold in Northern Ireland. These may need to be accompanied by the new UKNI marking in certain circumstances.
BEIS is hosting a webinar on 20 July to help you understand how to comply with our new goods regime, you can submit questions and sign up here.
Our take on this: Brexit is above our paygrade, but having three certifications (CE, UKCA and UKNI) just seems plain crazy and an additional burden on manufacturers, importers and retailers. The unknown at this time is will these changes limit the movement of empty cartridges? Can you only remanufacture and sell UKCA cartridges in Great Britain that were first placed on the market by an OEM? Will you need to collect UKNI cartridges to remanufacture and sell back to Northern Ireland and if you are selling into the EU, will you be able to have all three marks on a cartridge.
